Archer Aviation Unveil!

[martin-w 3,235]

Looks great. Zero single points of failure. 40 flights per day.

 

 

[birdguy 3,943]

Nice experiment.  But where will I put it?  I have a large yard, but it won't accommodate that monster.

Will you need a PPL and an FAA medical to fly it?  How many will fit in a WalMart parking lot?  Will WalMart have a control tower to direct incoming and outgoing flights?

For years they have been thinking about and designing airplanes to take the place of your automobile.  The vehicle isn't the problem.  Price, parking, traffic control, and trying to commute to work in a three dimensional environment are problems that can't be solved for the average user unless it is intended to park at the airport and take the place of your Cessna 172, or in case of the 2 place Archer your Cessna 152.

And how much will this flying sports car cost?  The average millionaire won't buy one unless he gets a big tax break to cover the cost and operation of the vehicle.

Now if this is just a test bed for a commuter aircraft or first responder medical personnel or forest fire fighter directors it looks like a pretty good concept.  But putting two people into a two place vehicle and listening to them talk about replacing the family car for short trips is ludicrous.

And how many of these concept vehicles have we seen over the past decade and how many have actually come to fruition?

And besides the glitzy presentation put me off to start with.

Noel

 

[W2DR 1,860]

These guys need to get back in touch with the real world. A totally unrealistic concept. All I see is just another glitzy sales pitch in hopes of attracting investor capital.

[fppilot 4,371]

I could not control that many engines with my Honeycomb Bravo and a pair of Saitek USB quadrants.  How well do you feel it would fly with the outboard engines on each side off and props feathered?  LOL!  And if it holds only 4 souls the pax cost per mile would be out of range....   But it might transport (4) NFL offensive linemen...

Was yesterday March 31st?

Edited June 19, 2021 by fppilot

[martin-w 3,235]

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

Nice experiment.  But where will I put it?  I have a large yard, but it won't accommodate that monster.

Will you need a PPL and an FAA medical to fly it?  How many will fit in a WalMart parking lot?  Will WalMart have a control tower to direct incoming and outgoing flights?

For years they have been thinking about and designing airplanes to take the place of your automobile. 

 

 

That's not what it's for. It's not for the average person to replace a car.

Its an air taxi.

This is an autonomous test vehicle with no flight controls. The final product will be bigger and with flight controls.

Edited June 19, 2021 by martin-w

[martin-w 3,235]

22 minutes ago, W2DR said:

These guys need to get back in touch with the real world. A totally unrealistic concept. All I see is just another glitzy sales pitch in hopes of attracting investor capital.

 

Of course its not an unrealistic concept. There are numerous electric air taxis in development. Dubai are already testing their air taxi. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/06/the-flying-taxi-market-is-ready-to-change-worldwide-travel.html

[martin-w 3,235]

18 minutes ago, fppilot said:

And if it holds only 4 souls the pax cost per mile would be out of range....

 

Not at all. Electric motors are far more efficient than internal combustion engines. And electric air taxi's are light weight.

$3 per mile. 

 

[jcomm 5,939]

The kind of vehicle I would never seat my word not allowed in...

[birdguy 3,943]

14 minutes ago, martin-w said:

$3 per mile. 

Is that total operating cost for 3 passengers and their baggage in a four seater?  That comes out to about a dollar a mile per passenger.  I must have the part about how long it takes to charge the batteries.  Did they mention that? 

Noel

Edited June 19, 2021 by birdguy

[johnbow72 2,722]

I’ll put it next to my “Ark” in the back yard . 🤨🤣

[dave2013 1,130]

36 minutes ago, birdguy said:

Is that total operating cost for 3 passengers and their baggage in a four seater?  That comes out to about a dollar a mile per passenger.  I must have the part about how long it takes to charge the batteries.  Did they mention that? 

Noel

Advocates of  EVs don't like to talk about the charging time.

I watched a couple videos the other day of some guys driving around comparing different charging stations.  Most of them were low wattage chargers, such as 7.2KW, which would take several hours to get just 100 miles of charge.  Even the level 3 chargers only provide about 150 miles per hour of charge.  Not very convenient if you're taking a trip of several hundred miles.  Yes, there are 200KW chargers, but they are not very prevalent yet.  However, even with a level 3 200KW charger, you'd still be looking at a 15 minute wait to get about 150 miles of charge.  Moreover, many EVs have a charging power limit which is often less than 200KW.

If you don't drive much or very far, then you can just leave the car charging on a home 240V charger and you'll be happy.  For longer trips, however, EVs are just not practical at all.

I believe the situation will improve over time as battery capacity and charging time get better, and more high power charging stations are installed throughout the country.  We're just not there yet, IMO.

Dave

[fppilot 4,371]

5 hours ago, martin-w said:

Not at all. Electric motors are far more efficient than internal combustion engines. And electric air taxi's are light weight.

 

Egg on my face!  Wass word not allowed to the all electric. So what is the range?  How long including recharging's to fly from St Louis to Orange County, Ca.  Including recharge time now!  
I just took a look at the BMW SUV X4 electric model and see that the range is 300 miles with a typical 11.5 hour recharge.  I am totally retired and would not accept that to reach and visit my 95 yr old WWII veteran dad who is 580 miles from me....

How much range could this hypothetical model achieve?  

[martin-w 3,235]

14 hours ago, jcomm said:

The kind of vehicle I would never seat my word not allowed in...

 

I think people taker a glance at this technology and assume it's "just a big commercial drone". In reality they are far more than that and should be VERY safe. The Archer Aviation vehicle has ZERO single points of failure. Now compare that with a helicopter that literally has hundreds of single points of failure. The archer vehicle has two battery packs, you can  lose and entire battery pack and still keep flying. Same for the multiple motors, in that you can lose several motors and still keep flying. They are designed to be very safe and that applies to all of the air taxi's in development. 

I think when helicopters were first invented, most people would have had the same opinion as you. Now its a commonplace means of transportation. 

Edited June 20, 2021 by martin-w

[martin-w 3,235]

13 hours ago, dave2013 said:

Advocates of  EVs don't like to talk about the charging time.

 

Not true Dave, its a common topic of conversation in the EV world, both for cars and aircraft.  Most EV cars are charged at home, overnight. 

In terms of aircraft, the Archer Aviation aircraft is designed to fly 40 flights until it requires recharging. The battery pack is larger than is required for the mission. Some electric aircraft like the Pipistrel Aphra Electra, that's in use now, as we speak, and used by flight schools, has a battery pack that's slides in. When you land you slide out the pack and slide in a new one. 

 

Quote

I believe the situation will improve over time as battery capacity and charging time get better, and more high power charging stations are installed throughout the country.  We're just not there yet, IMO.

 

This topic is about aircraft not cars, but yes, there is more to be done regrading changing infrastructure fort cars. I recall there are currently 50,000 chargers in the US and more planned. Additional chargers have been given a priority by your current government. I think currently there are 24,000 superchargers in the US.

Most fast chargers take 40 minutes for a  charge. But then if we are traveling a long distance we all have to stop to go to the toilet, get something to eat and take a break. Dangerous and unhealthy not to.

Edited June 20, 2021 by martin-w

[martin-w 3,235]

8 hours ago, fppilot said:

 So what is the range?  How long including recharging's to fly from St Louis to Orange County, Ca.  Including recharge time now!  
 

 

I'm not familiar with US geography but you seem to be confusing what the air taxi's are designed for. An air taxi is a very short range taxi, designed to, for example, transport people quickly from places like airports to cites. The air taxi that 's currently flying in Dubai, the Volocopter, only have a range of 35 kilometres. The Archer Aviation vehicle has a range of 60 miles. Bell are currently working on an air taxi that will have a range of 150 miles. None of these vehicles are designed to travel long distances, battery tech isn't capable of that yet. 

The best range we currently have for an electric aircraft is the Eviation Alice that will have a range of 1000 kilometres and carry 9 passengers and one or two pilots.  Its first flight is scheduled any time now. 

 

https://evtol.news/bell-air-taxi/

https://www.volocopter.com/solutions/volocity/